Followers

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I know all (2) of my followers were devastated when my blog took a hiatus in August. Not to fear though, I'm back! I figured the beginning of spring training is as good a time as any to start my blog back up, especially with such optimism surrounding the Orioles; something that has been missing for the past.. oh I don't know.. 15 years. If you don't know where the optimism is coming from I suggest you get caught up on the moves the Orioles made this off season. Luckily for you, I'm going to do that for you right here in my next two posts.

The first big splash was made with the trade for Third-baseman and home run hitting machine Mark Reynolds. Reynolds is the Former NL home run champion, and provides a huge upgrade over the Miguel Tejada/Josh Bell platoon last season. The only thing Reynolds is known more for than his home run hitting prowess is his astronomical strikeout totals, which although scary, are offset by his power and (yeah this makes no sense) patience. Reynolds will probably be in the 5th spot most nights, and will provide protection in the lineup for Luke Scott and Matt Wieters.

The 2nd big trade the Orioles made, was the acquisition of JJ Hardy, the former Milwaukee Brewer. Hardy is an excellent defensive shortstop, who is just 2 years removed from a 24 home run season. Hardy has been plagued by injuries, but if he can stay healthy he will provide a mammoth upgrade over Cesar Izturis, who looked like he was hitting with a whiffleball bat all last season. Actually I'm sure an injured JJ Hardy, even while on the disabled list could match the offensive production Izzy provided last season. It was that bad.

These two players in themselves provide an immense upgrade offensively and defensively for the Orioles formerly abysmal left side of the infield.